Paulo Blikstein
Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
Affiliate Associate Professor, Computer Science Department & Data Science Institute
Director — Transformative Learning Technologies Lab · Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies · Paulo Freire Initiative · FabLearn
Researcher in the learning sciences and educational technology, working at the intersection of constructionism and critical pedagogy. Creator of the FabLearn program, co-inventor of the GoGo Board, and co-creator of Google's Project Bloks. Research interests span STEM, computer science, and maker education; AI in education; equity, ethics, and social justice; and the design and deployment of educational technologies, with projects in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Finland, Australia, Spain, and Denmark.
Academic Appointments
2018 –
Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
Mathematics, Science, and Technology Department · Affiliate Associate Professor, Computer Science Department & Data Science Institute · Director, Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies
2024 – 2025
Visiting Researcher, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey
Monterrey, Mexico
2008 – 2018
Assistant Professor of Education & (by courtesy) Computer Science, Stanford University
Founder & Director, Lemann Center for Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazil (2011–2018)
Service
Board Member, International Society of the Learning Sciences (2021–2027) · Founder & President, ISLS Brazil Affiliate Group (since 2020) · Founder, ISLS Low- and Middle-Income Countries Action Group (since 2024)
Education
2009
Ph.D., Learning Sciences — Northwestern University
Advisor: Uri Wilensky. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling.
2002
M.S., Media Arts and Sciences — MIT Media Lab
Advisor: David Cavallo. Committee: Seymour Papert, Ceasar McDowell.
2000
M.S., Digital Systems Engineering — University of São Paulo
Technology-rich learning environments for engineering education.
1999
B.Eng., Metallurgical Engineering — University of São Paulo
Honors & Awards
- Eight Best Paper awards at conferences and journals in the Learning Sciences, Interaction Design, and Learning Analytics (2015–2025)
- Jan Hawkins Early Career Award, American Educational Research Association (2016)
- Dean's Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2015)
- NSF CAREER Award (2011–2017) — “Bifocal modeling: A new approach for the learning of advanced STEM content in high school”
- Finalist, Leaders Under 40 Award, Estado de São Paulo, Brazil (2012)
- Presidential Fellowship nominee, School of Education, Northwestern University (2006)
Best Paper Awards
2025Outstanding Short Paper Award — International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS)
Rosenbaum, Lanouette, & Blikstein, “Datafying spaces and places: youth-authored maps and data visualizations.”
2024Outstanding Student Paper Award — International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS)
Eloy, Fuhrmann, Wagh, de Deus Lopes, Wilkerson, & Blikstein, “Decomposing students’ design moves when programming agent-based models.”
2024Best Pictorial Award — ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC)
Fernandez, Blikstein, & Lopes, “Design failures in data visualization programming activities.”
2023Honorable Mention — Constructionism 2023 Conference
Rosenbaum, Fields, Morales-Navarro, & Blikstein, “Everyday representations as objects-to-think-with in a Thai farmer’s life.”
2023AERA Learning Sciences SIG Best Student Paper Award — American Educational Research Association
Russo, Rosenbaum, Blikstein, Zheng, Bora, Liu, Aggarwal, & Nyakoa, “Emancipatory maker practices in the Global South.”
2022Honorable Mention Short Paper — ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC)
Fernandez, Freitas, Lopes, & Blikstein, “Programming trajectories in data science activities with Scratch.”
2022Paper of the Year Award — European Journal of Education
Blikstein, Zheng, & Zhou, “Ceci n’est pas une école: discourses of artificial intelligence in education through the lens of semiotic analytics.”
2015Honorable Mention — ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)
Hossain, Jin, Bumbacher, Chung, Koo, Shapiro, Truong, Choi, Orloff, Blikstein, & Riedel-Kruse, “Interactive cloud experimentation for biology.”
Research Funding
22
Foundation / corporate grants
$20M+
Total awarded across roles
Selected NSF Grants (as PI)
- 2025–28Integrating Large Data-driven Explorations in Computational Environmental Sciences (ITEST)
- 2023–26Seeing Science: Using Computer Vision to Explore the Scientific Principles Behind Everyday Objects (RETTL)
- 2020–25From Access to Sustainability: Fostering Sustainable Use of Computational Modeling in K–12 Science Classrooms (DRK-12)
- 2013–17Taking Hands-on Experimentation to the Cloud: Comparing Physical and Virtual Models in Biology on a Massive Scale (Cyberlearning)
- 2011–17Bifocal Modeling: A New Approach for the Learning of Advanced STEM Content in High School (CAREER)
- 2016–19Liquid-Handling Robots: A New Paradigm for STEM Education (IIS)
- 2013–17Enabling Modeling- and Simulation-Based Science in the Classroom (DRK-12)
Selected Foundation & Corporate Partnerships
- 2023–Brazilian Observatory of AI in Education (Itaú Foundation)
- 2023–27Computer Science Education in the City of Sobral, Brazil (LIMMAT Foundation)
- 2018–25The Lemann Initiative for STEM Education in Brazil (Lemann Foundation)
- 2018–23The Candlelight Initiative for Innovation in Thai Education 2.0 (Suksaphattana Foundation)
- 2017–28STEM Education and Innovation in K–12 Classrooms (ISF Foundation, Hong Kong)
- 2016–17Coding for Young Learners & Project Bloks (Google)
- 2011–21Lemann Center for Entrepreneurship and Educational Innovation in Brazil, Stanford (Lemann Foundation)
Selected Inventions & Software
GoGo Board
First open-source robotics and environmental-sensing platform for education (with A. Sipitakiat).
gogoboard.orgProject Bloks
Tangible coding platform for preschool children, with Google Creative Lab — two patents.
BioLab
Platform for massive remote biology experimentation (with I. Riedel-Kruse).
LightUp · Tinker
Tangible electronics prototyping and graphical programming for physical computing.
Courses Taught
- Beyond Bits and Atoms: Designing Technologies for Creative Learning
- Beyond Bits and Atoms: Fabrication and Physical Computing for Education
- Ethics, Equity and Social Justice in Educational Technology
- Brazilian Education Seminar
Editorial & Professional Service
Editorial Roles
- Editorial Board, Journal of the Learning Sciences (2020–)
- Editorial Board, Computers & Education (2018–)
- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies (2019–)
Conference Leadership
- Founder & Chair, FabLearn / Digital Fabrication in Education conferences (2011–)
- General Conference Chair, Constructionism / FabLearn 2023 (New York); Consultant Chair, Constructionism 2025 (Zurich)
- General Program Chair, International Conference of the Learning Sciences 2023 (Montreal); Systems Chair, ICLS 2024 (Buffalo) & 2025 (Helsinki)
- Program Chair, Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK) 2015; Conference, Paper, and Doctoral Consortium Chairs, ACM IDC (2007–2017)
Professional Memberships
International Educational Data Mining Society (EDM) · Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) · American Educational Research Association (AERA) · International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) · Jean Piaget Society · IEEE · American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) · ACM · Cognitive Science Society
Publications
Approximately 400 publications, including 2 books, 8 edited books, 57 peer-reviewed journal articles, and book chapters, in venues such as the Journal of the Learning Sciences, Nature Biotechnology, the Journal of Engineering Education, and IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies — together cited more than 8,500 times. Browse the full, filterable list on the publications page or on Google Scholar.
Selected Media
The New York Times · ABC News · Scientific American · Wired · The Guardian. Op-eds in Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo, the New York Daily News, and Tech Policy Press.